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ITV drama Hatton Garden heist to star Kenneth Cranham as Dartford's Brian Reader

10:26, 14 May 2019

updated: 11:27, 14 May 2019

Viewers can watch the multi-million pound Hatton Garden heist unfold on screen thanks to an eagerly anticipated four-part drama.

The crime, dubbed Britain's biggest burglary, saw a group of elderly career criminals rob London's famed jewellery quarter - making off with £25m in valuables including gold, diamonds and sapphires.

The series will see Olivier award-winning actor Kenneth Cranham play Dartford's Brian Reader, the "mastermind" behind the raid, and features household name Timothy Spall OBE as fellow ringleader Terry Perkins of Enfield, north London.

Brian Reader, from Dartford, was named the "mastermind" behind the heist. Picture: ITV
Brian Reader, from Dartford, was named the "mastermind" behind the heist. Picture: ITV

Dramatised by BAFTA winning screenwriter Jeff Pope, it shows how the gang meticulously planned the raid, the tensions amongst the group, the loss of livelihoods suffered by the box holders and the complex police operation that captured the criminals.

Although the heist took place in April 2015, ringleaders were taken to court last year in an attempt to claw back some of their ill-gotten gains.

Only around a third of the haul has ever been recovered, after the gang ransacked 73 safety deposit boxes, of which 29 were empty.

The gang ransacked 73 safety deposit boxes, of which 29 were empty. Picture: ITV
The gang ransacked 73 safety deposit boxes, of which 29 were empty. Picture: ITV
The group bore a hole through a thick concrete wall to break into the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. Picture: ITV
The group bore a hole through a thick concrete wall to break into the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. Picture: ITV

The group bore a hole through a thick concrete wall and broke into a vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit, and in 2015 a court heard it took three years to plan the huge operation.

Brian Reader, 79, was jailed for six years and three months for his role in the infamous heist, but was released in July last year after serving half his sentence.

In October, he lost his appeal against an order forcing him to pay back £6.6 million.

The drama will air nightly on ITV from Monday, May 20 to Thursday, May 23, after being re-scheduled twice in the past for legal reasons.

Read more: All the latest news from Dartford

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